WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties were all placed under a drought watch Friday.<\/p>\n
The three north country counties were part of a larger list of 28 counties in New York on the watch list.<\/p>\n
A watch is the least severe of four levels of State drought advisories, which are watch, warning, emergency, and disaster. No mandatory restrictions are in place under a drought watch.<\/p>\n
A statement from Governor Kathy Hochul\u2019s office said the governor acted to declare the drought watch after consulting with the State Drought Management Task Force and federal partner agencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven with some recent rain, it wasn\u2019t enough to reduce the dry conditions we\u2019ve seen most of the summer this year,\u201d Hochul said in the statement. <\/p>\n
New York State is encouraging residents in affected counties, particularly those dependent on private groundwater wells, to conserve water whenever possible during the coming weeks. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhile it\u2019s not mandatory, we\u2019re encouraging everyone who lives in the drought watch areas to do what they can to conserve water during this dry weather,\u201d said Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner Amanda Lefton.<\/p>\n
Hochul said local restrictions on water use could be put in place, \u201cshould conditions worsen.\u201d<\/p>\n
The full list of counties under drought watch are Chautauqua, Clinton, Erie, Essex, Franklin, Genesee, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Monroe, Nassau, Niagara, Orleans, Oswego, St. Lawrence, Suffolk, Warren, Wayne, and the northern portion of Cayuga County.<\/p>\n
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